Weather locations in North Korea

North Korea lies in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, between the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan. Its climate is temperate with a marked seasonal rhythm, cold dry winters and hot wet summers, and mountains cover most of the country.

Main climate types

The greater part of the country is humid continental in type. The peninsula's position produces a monsoon-like pattern: winter winds from the Siberian interior bring cold, dry air, while summer winds bring warm, moist air from the Pacific and produce the main rains. The eastern province of North Hamgyong and the northern highlands along the Chinese border are colder and get more snow, while the western lowlands are warmer and drier.

Temperatures

Pyongyang averages about minus 2 degrees in January and 24 degrees in July, and stations along the eastern coast are similar in summer but milder in winter. Winter lows inland in the north can fall to minus 15 or below on clear calm nights, while summer highs in the capitals reach the high 20s. Spring and autumn are short, and pleasant.

Rainfall

Annual rainfall is around 900 to 1,000 millimetres in the south and up to 1,300 millimetres or more in the mountainous north. Between half and two thirds of it falls in the summer months of June, July and August, when the East Asian monsoon brings sustained rain and sometimes the remnants of typhoons; flooding is most frequent then. Rainfall from December to February is light, and the north-east takes most of the snowfall.

When to go

For sightseeing, the months from May to early June and mid-September to October are generally the best, with mild temperatures and less rain than in the monsoon. Winter in the north-east is cold with deep snow, though fewer roads stay open. Bear in mind that tourism infrastructure is limited, and that a spell of summer rain compounds the country's transport difficulties.